Fluid flowmeters



Aug 21, 1962 K. SPARKUHL 3,049,918

FLUID FLOWMETERS BWK/gw #fiorwg Aug. 21, 1962 K. SPARKUHL 3,049,918

FLUID FLOWMETERS Filed March ll, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T' i u 6 M7/WM INVENTOR. /l/aA/sm/WN 5MM/afa ,4free/Vey 3,049,918 FLUID FL'EWMEIERS Konstantin Sparkuhl, San Marino, Calif., assignor of titty percent to Theodore Gregory, Studio City, Calif. Filed Mar. 11, 196), Ser. No. 14,260 v 4 Claims. (Cl. 73209) This invention relates to a device -for measuring the rate of flow of fluids, and particularly to a owmeter for measuring liquids intravenously administered to a patient.

Certain prior types of owmeters eliminate any counting of the drops of liquid or measuring integrating meters and directly indicate on a scale the amount of liquid li'owing to a patient at any instance. The scales are preferably calibrated in cubic centimeters or millimeters per hour or per minute so that it is only necessary to observe the scale for an accurate reading of the rate of flow of the intravenous fluid. The units are self-adjusting to the extent that upon stoppage of the `liquid low, the meter will read zero. Another scale reading drops per minute may be used alone or placed alongside of the precalibrated scale.

The present invention has all the advantages of the prior types of owmeters, plus a number of additional advantages. For instance, the owmeter described hereinafter is constructed of coaxial, nested members, preferably tubular, and is adapted to hang erectly in balance and in a manner enabling it to he easily read from any side. In its preferred embodiment, it is concentrated into a` small concentric unit made up of coaxial tubes and chambers, which arrangement not only contributes to the erect hangling 'balance of the unit but also enables wall structure of a nature eliminating stresses and strains which might otherwise prevail when the device is made of plastic material.

The rate of flow is indicated by the position of a ball in a tapered bore of ione of the tubes, the ball moving along a scale calibrated in cubic `centimeters or millimeters per hour or perminute or in drops of fluid per minute. The erect, hanging balance contributes to the proper operation lof this lball since it eliminates a tendency, which might otherwise prevail, for theball to shift olf-center within the tapered bore. r made small physically |but is unusually free from failure and thus particularly reliable in its operation. It is also economical to manufacture, so it can be disposable; that is, used only once and then discarded, thus providing the maximum in sterility.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to facilitate the indicator of the rate of ow of a iluid. f

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ilowmeter for measuring the rate of owof intravenous iluids.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved owmeter .for directly indicating the rate of ow of intravenous iluids and which is a minimum size physically, economical to produce, and is reliable inoperation.

A better understanding of the invention may 'be had' IFIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6 6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 Yis a partial elevational cross-sectional view of a modication of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, i11- clusive; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectionalview taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

Referring nfow, to the drawings in which thesaine reference numerals indicate like elements, a supply `bottle 5 containing a uid 6 may Ibe suspended in any suitable manner, such as Iby a Ibale 7. The mouth of the bottle has a stopper 10 therein through which is anv air vent pipe 11 extending above the surface of the fluid 6. Also in stopper 10 isan outlet tube 12 having a spiked top. The tube 12 may extend into the upper end of the iloW- meter shown generally at 14 or may be an integral part The device may -not only be of the ilowmeter. There is mounted onthe iiowmeter a holder 13 for a scale card 15 having calibrated indicia 16 thereon, this indicia being properly calibrated, such as in cubic centimeters or millimeters per hour lor per minute or in number of drops per minute. v Y

Visible through an elongated slot 18 in the scale card is a fball indicator 19j, the position of which indicates the rate lof flow as read on the indicia 16. From the bottom of the owmeter 14,through a connecting stemv 21 is a ilexible tu'be 22 vhaving a valve 23 thereon to control Ithe fluid flow from the 'bottle 5.

Referring, now, to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the owmeter 14 is constructed Vof an outer tube or cylinder 25, which may be of transparent material, such as plastic or` glass, and which is closed at the top fby a cap 26 having a hollow inlet stem 27. The'cap 26 c ,ould be formed integrally with the cylinder 25. The lower end of the owmeter is closed by a cap 29 in which is the stem 21 connected to the tube- 22. The gap 29fhas two bosses 32 and 33 extending upwardly therefrom, boss 33 having a bore 34 which extends through stem 21. l

Coaxially positioned within the cylinder 25 is a 'secondv plastic. The top of the cylinder '31 is closed by a cap 35 l having a central pointed extension 36;.

Coaxially positioned within the second cylinder 31 is an inner third tube or cylinder 38, which is transparent andmay be of yglass or plastic. The internal bore 39 of this inner cylinder is tapered from a narrow dimension at the bottom to a wider dimension at the top and in which is positioned the Iball 1 9 shown at the bottom of the cylinder 39 which indicates zero ilow of fluid' through `the bore in the direction shown -by the arrows. The end of the extension 36 is positioned slightly'within the upper `end of the tapered lbore of cylinder 38 to maintain 'the ball 19 therein, as shown by the dotted lines 41. A tapered -stud' 43 under theball 12 establishes the zero position of the lball and prevents, the -ball from dropping to a'level where it will stick in the bore 39 in the event the lower end of the |bore is too small. As shown by the dotted lines `44 in FIG. 2, a horizontal wall 45 is positioned at-the bottom of the tubes 31 and 38, through `which Wall the fbosses 32 and'33 extendfthe bore 34 in boss 33 communicating with the space between cylinders 31 and 38. The wall 45 may he either integral with these tubes or may he a separate washer which lls the space between the tu'bes 31 and 38 except at rbore 34. (See FIGS. Sand 4.)

In the operation of the above-described flowmeter, the fluid enters lthrough the stem 27 of the cap 26 and flows into the chamber formed by the wall of the outer cylinder or tube 25. The fluid then flows 'between the wall of the second cylinder 31 and the wall of the cylinder 25 and across the bottom of the cap 29 around bosses 32 and 33 and then upwardly into the tapered `bore of the inner rate of ow bringing the ball to the top of the tapered bore in the tube 38. The rate of flow is read on the indicia scale. 'I'he ball 19 is made of a material whose speciiicV gravity is 4greater than that of the fluid beingmetered; for instance, in metering certain fluids, it maybe made of glass or plastic. To illustrate -a preferred iiowmeter, the tapered tube 38 may have the following dimensions:

With thesedimensions, there will be no tendency for the ball ,to stickf in the lower end of the bore, the stud y43 serving only to hold the ball from dropping out and to establish the'zero position Vof the ball.

Referring, now', to FIGS. 5V and 6, this flowmeter construction comprises a cylindrical outer tube S0, which may be of transparent lglass or plastic, and an inner .tran-sparent cylinder 51 having a constant ydiari'ieter bore 52 therethrough and offset from the center thereof, and a tapered central bore 54 therethrough. The top ofthe inner cylinder -51 is closed by a cap 55, providing communication between bores 52 and 54 and 'has a central,

extension 56 to maintain a 'bail 57 within the tapered bore 54 when it reachesthe top of the tapered bore. The cylinder 50 may be capped as shown at 26 in FIG. 2. TheA inner .cylinder 5,1 is mounted on bosses 60 and 61, boss 61 having a through-bore connecting with the bore of Ytube Z2. A tapered stud 62 is provided for determining the lower end of the tapered bore 68 and out through the bore 67, as shown by the arrows. A tapered stud 72 is provided to determine the zero position Yof a ball 73. The element 66 is supported on bosses 76 and 77, boss 76 closing Vthe lower end of bore 75 and boss 77 having a bore therethrough for the exit of the uid as described above for the other modications.

IIt will be noted that all the iiowmeters operate on the ysame Vgeneral principle and are #balanced to provide the advantagesV mentioned above. Furthermore, the 'owmeters may be of small proportions and are so economical to'manufacture that they can be disposable after a single use. They are easily supported onran outlet tube, such as 12, heldin the stopper-.10 by friction To start the owmeters, the valve 23 is opened and iiow is permitted until the tube 22 is full. The tube 22 is then raised above the owmeter to iiow the uid back into the iiowmeter up to a level above the top of inner cylinders, Vsuch as shown by line 42 in FIG. 2. This eliminates any air in the flowmeters, after which the rate of flow is indicated by the position on theballs in the tapered bores.

I claim: Y

-l. A iiowmeter comprising three vertically and c0- aXially positioned cylinders, one of which has a tapered I bore, uid being adapted to rst flow downwardly through said owmeter, then upwardly in said tapered bore and then downwardly to exit from said cylinders, said cylinders including a viirst outer cylinder, a second cylinder Y within said first cylinder and closed at the top, and an innerV cylinder having said tapered bore therein, said iiuid iirst owing downwardly between said second cylinder and VVsaid'iirst cylinder, then upwardly through said tapered bore, and thenV downwardly between said second cylinder and said inner cylinder, said tapered bore in said inner the kzero position ofi-the ball 57. VThis modification func` Vtions in the same manner as tlle-modiiic'ation` shownV in FIGS. 1 to 4, inclusive, the uid entering the cylinder 50 and-flowing between this cylinder and the outer surface of the cylinder 51, then up thetapered bore 54 and Yout through bore 52 tothe exit tube 22 las Vshown by thearrows. Y

Referring, now, to FIGS. 7 and 8, a dowmeter construction similar to that shown-in FIGS. 5 andV 6yinV cludes an outer cylinder 65 and an Yinner element 660i approximatelyV rectangular, transverse cross section and. having a bore `67 therein atone'sidealid af centrally ta, pered bore 68. The inner element 66 is closed atvthe top by a cap 70 toprovide communication between Vbores 6'7 and 68, and has aprojection` 71 at the center'thereof'to prevent the ball from leaving the bore 68. VThe cylinder Y 65 maybe closed at'thetop Vas shown Iat '26 in FIG. 2. A bore75,'p`lugged at its opposite ends, may ormay not might otherwise exist, particularly iffelement'be a plastic molding or extrusion. k Y

In thismodiiicationot FIGS.`7 and 8, the iiuidenters the owmeter between the inner surface of the cylinder 65 and the outer surface of the element `66 and flows to cylinder havingr means therein for indicating the amount of fluidiiowing therethrough, a base being provided for said first cylinder, said base being provided with a pair tof bosses, a wall mounted on said bosses and spaced from the inner surface of said base, the ends of said second and inner cylinders being connected to said wall to provide a passage from the space between said iirst and second cylinders to said tapered bore.

2. A iiowmeter in Vaccordance with claim l in vwhich a 4tapered stud is positionedion the inner surface of said base, said stud having the apex thereof extending into said tapered `bore-to position said `indicating means at zero ow position.

3. A flowmeter in accordance with claim 2 in which a cap is provided for the upper end of said second cylinder,

kbe provided at the other Yside'vo eleinent V 66this fbore* Yserving to give symmetry and balance lto element 66; theV Y character of symmetry reducing, stresses and strains that said cap having a central extension with the end thereof extending 4into the upperV end of said inner cylinder to maintain said indicating means within said tapered bore.

- 4. AV ilowrneter in accordance with claim 3 in which one of said bosses hasV a bore therein communicating with the Yspace between said inner and second cylinders to carry iluid from said meter.

References Cited in the file of this patent Y v A UNrrED s'rA'rns PATENTS 2,023,008

i Y Deming Dec. 3, 1935 2,087,279 'Deming July 20, 1937 2,258,023 McKernon Y- Oct. 7, 1941 2,655,041 Jacobson Oct. 13, 1953 2,993,374 1 Dwyer et.a1. July 25, 1961 

